Kristina

         Performance enhancing drugs have never failed to trigger people’s discussion and fascinate athletes for both amateur and professional alike.

         Recently, the players association and the commissioner’s office continued efforts Thursday to reach an agreement on the Mitchell report’s recommendations on performance-enhancing drugs. Mitchell had issued his report on December 13^th  last year on the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball. Among his recommendation in the report was a call for an independent drug testing program. The players association said that they were will to adopt the increasing drug test all around the year, but there was no need to establish an independent program. Fewer and fewer athletes have been mired in the punitive drug testing since it was instituted at the start of 2004 season. One of the lawyer contented that both sides felt they were compelled to adopt the recommendations so as not to anger the Congress. While the Congress imposed more pressure on them unless they had tackled drug test more aggressively. But right, neither the players association nor the commissioner’ office has supported changing the testing program into an independent testing administrator. This reminded me of the paper we learnt about the unsuccessfulness of tackling anti-doping. If we turn over the right of government in drug-testing to an independent agency, they may have much more freedom to preceed their experiments. The program under the control of bureau would attach more concerns on athletes’ health rather than the thorough settlement of the problem.

         As of the recent time, no compromise has been reached on this issue except for some of Mitchell’s recommendations.  

        After the closing ceremony of the 29^th Olympic Game, there comes the Paralympics, which was omitted by some of us. But I can want to say, China is the powerhouse of the Paralympics. And we ranked 1^st in the gold medal tally of the last Paralympics. However, does anyone know their pain and effort for the training? It may occur you that disable athletes would suffer much more than the common athletes.

Bian jianxin, who is China‘s first female athlete to win the Paralympic gold medal for powerlifting, is now the deputy director of the Baotou Welfare Center. She had mixed feelings of grief and joy when she looked back upon her early training. She unluckily suffered from polio as early as seven months of age, and then life became more and more checker for the little girl. She was introduced into training in 1993, but at the young age, she had to undergo huge training load of 20,000 kg everyday, while she weighed only 40kg at that time. Unfathomable, Ah…..???

Her hard work eventually paid off in her twenties. She made an excellent debut in 1994 World Powerlifting Championship, winning 3 gold medals in the 40kg category and bettering the world record thrice. And then she became champion of the 2000 Sydney Games, setting a record of 102.5kg of the 40kg category. “Nobody can beat you except you yourself”, just as what she had learnt about. She had overcome severe hardship others even never imagined. And her glory for the medal left her a series of injures and scars. Thanks to her great contribution to disabled sports, China’s Paralympics is now enjoying an unprecedented success.

As a delegate for the 17th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), she has made up her mind to devote to China disabled cause.

Though he was defeated in the match against Celtics, his performance to extend streak to 22 would still be a much-told story for the American as well as the world.

By the date March 19^th, 2008, he beat Los Angeles Lakers, stretching his streak to 22 and claiming to be the crown of the Western Conference. But some critics considered Huston’s streak as a fluke saying he was a weak team. However, their victory rang true that they were standing alone. Perhaps this would help to silence some skeptics. There is need criticizing the winner about their success, they are not easy, and have to take on the challenge to break another streak. From this point of view, I am on Rocket’s side. I hope, on the other hand, that Rocket would lose, for that would prove the importance of Yao Ming. And Yao‘s out for a broken foot is a severe lost for Rocket. He is the symbol for Asian. Combining with Liu Xiang and their hometown Shanghai, they are right to represent the Olympic motto: higher, faster and stronger. We are looking forward to seeing an upswing sport nation.

Guo Jingjing, one of China’s top women divers as well as a young diving queen, has set about to make a big splash in the Beijing Games.

Having competed in 3 Olympic Games, she has pocketed 2 gold medals and 2 silvers in the 2004 Athens Olympics and 2000 Sydney Olympics respectively. She knew she could have been retired from her diving career after 2004, but her flawless posture and strong technical skill was still going through her drill. The nation expects her fourth Olympics. Just as what she said with great determination, she had come a long way the pave her diving path, she would not give up so easy.

She started her swimming career at the age of six in an amateur sport school. The training was tough and full of obstacles for the little girl. And her defect of protruding kneecap was another ordeal before it was rectified. Injures from her joint and knee always kept her to hospital. She was accompanied with her ageing and exhausted mother. Life was not easy the rest of her days. She devotes her self to more rigorous training, because of her unwillingness of resting on her laurels.

She will retire after 2008, but what her focus now is not the thing after that but pocketing gold at the Beijing Games in front of her home crowd.

       Tiger Woods, the legend figure in golf, has recently won his 9^th medal in golf tournament by defeated his peer J.B. Holmes. He is only one feet less than Holmes behind the pin. After Woods’ shot about 17 feet left of the pin, he walked down the fairway, waiting for his opponent. When it was Holmes’ turn, his approach, unluckily however, flew at the flag but trickled onto the fringe, 36 feet behind the pin. So what happened next is very important. Holmes tried his second shot, but this time, he putted too heavily that the ball was trickling past the pin. Though Holmes has tried to make a tie on the match, he missed a short birdie try on 18.Just as the opponent of Tiger Woods said: He needs to play well, but they need to be flawless. He won not by the dint of sheer lucky, but his skills and techniques of golf.

I was sorry to see that the boycott to the 2008 Olympic Games. It was not easy for us in the past several years since we were announced to host the Games. The construction of Water Cube, Bird Nest and many other venues, we are speeding up for the cultivation of our citizens, we are devoting to improve the environment for the upcoming event, we are making no effort to help resolve the problem in Darfur, we just do what we should do.It had occurred to the precious Olympics that even with the boycott in the 1980 Moscow Games, but some athletes still took part in the events in their names. Just as what the IOC president Rogge said, we respected their decisions who didn’t like to participate in the big sporting event. But it has nothing to do with the politics. We should present more understanding to our host city. To our belief, the sponsors for the Beijing Olympics adhered to their sponsorships. There is “not a single sponsor told us it plans to quit the marketing program or stop supporting this Olympic Games.” We are looking forward to seeing a successful Olympic Games in the upcoming month.

       She is a wakening country, a country with plentiful vision and vigor, a country that prepares to bid for the 2018 Winter Olympic and likely to win the Games. She is German, a modest learner from her failure. 46 years ago, the tragedy of 11 members of the Israeli team murdered by a Palestinian group penetrate the heart of the nation. So this time, it is not easy for Munich of German to win the bid, for Pyeongchang bids for its third time with the selling point of bringing peace to the peninsular. Though seldom Asian countries have the qualification for the Winter Olympics, but Pyeongchang absolutely is one of them. And its strong determination has never fade away. Just as what the fact is that Munich has missed out twice on hosting the Sammer Olympics, she is experienced in improving her situation for the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics, and her governors’ lobbying skills make her the most promising country the host the Games. We are looking forward to seeing the enthusiastic performance in bidding in 2011.

China has never participated in equestrian in the Olympics, so it has been looking forward to beginning its Olympic history in the 2008 Beijing Olympics which are going to be great opportunities for China as well as its athletes.   Only five riders have chances to qualify for the Olympic equestrian event: Alex Hua Tian, Liu Lina, Zhang Bing, Huang Zuping and Li Zhengqiong. But one of them had missed the chance because he could not find the right horse before the deadline. Besides, being lack of money is one of the big obstacles from joining in the Games. The expense of training for the horses and riders is extremely high, so our riders have to find sponsorships to cover the expense. Teenaged rider Hua Tian had been lucky to find a tycoon to sponsor his expense for the whole race. While his teammate was not that lucky, and he had a long way to fulfill his Olympic dream. Though Hua Tian is the most promising Chinese rider, he is inexperienced anyway.     As the 2008 Olympics are well on the way, they are eager to be the first Chinese equestrian athletes in history.

Four year prior, China has successfully hosted the Asian Cup. Right now, she is ambitiously to bid for the super football event—the World Cup. What makes her being so confident for the chance? Her status as economic super power and support from FIFA does. Despite a long list of flop in international tournaments, Chinese people never give up hope for their football success. As its mention in the article, there are three aspects: support from FIFA president, support from China’s top sports administration; and the experience the country will gain after the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games,” the report continued. It seems, obviously, that China‘s hosting the 2008 Olympics makes it a good beginning for the consecutive success in the future. This is china’s first attempt to bid for the World Cup, the CFA is making full preparation for the upcoming opportunities. Since it has been ruled that the World Cup will be rotated among the six continents, it will be sometime before China could stage the World Cup.

As the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games are well on the way, the development and improvement are for all to see. The constructions of stadiums are on track. With the newly-built infrastructures like the 27-km No.5 metro line and the 561-km long metro network, people in the downtown are going to enjoy better transport and cleaner air and streets. At the same time, more and more education about Olympics has been widely spread to every citizen, who has long before raised their awareness his or her important role in the successfulness of the Olympic Games. They are starting to learn English, study the geography of Beijing and basic Olympic amenity. It is happy to see that the Olympic Games not only bring us economic and financial benefits but also improve people’s qualities here.Besides, people have a lot of wishes for the Olympic Games, the top ten are as follow:

Liu xiang, the hero of the nation and ambassador of the Games, whose success in the 2008 Olympics becomes the No.1 wish in the list. Every one is highly exciting to expect the coming of the biggest sporting event.